Horace Mann Spirit of Service 2014 Winners Announced

KEENE, N.H. — Antioch University New England (AUNE) has named the recipients of the 2014 Horace Mann Spirit of Service Awards. Each year individuals are selected in three categories: the Citizens Award, the Staff/Faculty Award and the Alumni Award, with this year’s awards going to Jean and John Hoffman, Heidi Watts and Martha Summerville respectively. The awards will be presented at the 4th annual Horace Mann dinner on Friday, September 19, at the Keene Country Club, 755 West Hill Road, at 6:00 pm. Tickets are $50 with the option to purchase tables of eight. Proceeds from the event will benefit the AUNE scholarship fund.

Citizens Award: John and Jean Hoffman are longtime and active community service advocates. Mr. Hoffman has held multiple board leadership positions across the state of New Hampshire. Additionally, in 1980 and 1981, he played a major role in the negotiations with Iran leading to the release of the American hostages. Mr. Hoffman’s exemplary service has warranted recognition including: Rotary Club International’s Paul Harris Fellow Award; The Granite State Award; and most recently, the Greater Keene Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year, together with his wife Jean. Mrs. Hoffman has a longstanding history of volunteer work. Currently she serves on the advisory councils of HCS Services, MoCo Arts and the Cheshire Medical Center, and is a member of the Keene State College President’s Council. More recently, using her own private battle with scoliosis, Mrs. Hoffman worked with Cheshire Medical Center to include spine therapists in their Farnum Rehabilitation programs, now known as the Hoffman Spine Center. In March, 2013, partnering with the hospital’s Healthy Monadnock program, she introduced a new initiative for Super Seniors (the over-70 population) to reenergize their interest in exercising while enjoying themselves.

Staff/Faculty Award: Heidi Watts, PhD, is professor emerita from AUNE, formerly co-chair of the Department of Education, and currently working with the Doctoral Program in Environmental Studies. She follows a migratory pattern, living in Nova Scotia in the summer, New Hampshire in the fall and spring, and India in the winter, where she works with teachers in the international community of Auroville.

Alumni Award: Martha Summerville, PhD, ’85, is an executive consultant with extensive experience in organization design and development, human resources and education. She is president of Summerville Consulting LLC specializing in executive consultation and board development. Ms. Summerville was a founding member of the AUNE Board of Trustees and served as the founding chair. She was recently appointed to the Antioch University Board of Governors. In addition, she was a faculty member in the Department of Organization and Management at AUNE for nine years.

The Horace Mann Spirit of Service Awards are named for Horace Mann, the first president of Antioch College and a noted abolitionist and educator. They honor the efforts of individuals who have, in Mann’s words, won victories for humanity, through their work or volunteerism. In honoring their efforts, AUNE continues its commitment to public service and appreciation for those who work for community engagement, diversity, lifelong learning, sustainability, and social justice.

Sponsors for this year’s Horace Mann dinner include C&S Wholesale Grocers; Markem-Imaje International; The Mountain Corporation; and the Savings Bank of Walpole. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Faith Linsky, director of development and alumni relations, 603.283.2163, or by email to flinsky@antioch.edu.